Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,290,000 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the December 15th total of 2,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 724,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In related news, Director Steven Koh sold 96,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total value of $1,287,944.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,167,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,216,416.59. This represents a 2.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.16, for a total transaction of $42,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,795 shares in the company, valued at $280,297.20. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 129,224 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,873. 5.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 66.8% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 170,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after buying an additional 68,460 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 9.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 648,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,140,000 after purchasing an additional 53,587 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 893,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,218,000 after buying an additional 95,570 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 109.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 253,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,183,000 after purchasing an additional 132,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,842,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,703,000 after buying an additional 48,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of HOPE stock opened at $12.09 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.16. Hope Bancorp has a 12 month low of $9.80 and a 12 month high of $14.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $246.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.67 million. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 9.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hope Bancorp will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

Hope Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hope that provides retail and commercial banking services for businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts personal and business checking, money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers loans comprising commercial and industrial loans to businesses for various purposes, such as working capital, purchasing inventory, debt refinancing, business acquisitions, international trade finance, other business-related financing, and loans syndication services; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; small business administration loans; and consumer loans, such as single-family mortgage, home equity, automobile, credit card, and personal loans.